Friday morning the whole IES program set out for Salamanca, a beautiful University city about two hours west of Madrid. After unpacking and getting settled in our hotels we headed to the Plaza Mayor of Salamanca for a paseo ("walk") through Salamanca.
The paseo lead us through a tour of Cathedrals and Universities, the main things Salamanca is known for. Salamanca's university was founded in 1218 and is the oldest university in Spain and is the fifth oldest western university. The paseo was a little rough as it was much colder and windier than in Madrid. Just as the rain started to fall we were able to have some free time in which a group of girls and I went and got paninis at a cheap place called Cafe& Te. After free time we actually had the opportunity of going into the Cathedral and up in the Torre Jeronimus, the tower above the city overlooking some of the most beautiful views of Salamanca.
Inside the beautiful Cathedral Salamanca.
After we finished with the tours of the Cathedral and viewing the city from the Torre Jeronimus we walked back to the hotel. On the way back to the hotel a group of about ten of us IES students almost met our death as a truck pulled up a tiny road we were walking on and we were forced up against a wall. We tried desperately to make ourselves as thin as possible as the truck came inches from our faces. It was definitely a nice bonding moment as I came closer than I wanted with a certain person as I was squished up on him against the wall, but we all survived nonetheless. At our hotel IES provided us with a more formal dinner consisting of some delicious meat and vegetable dishes. The first course was a mixture of grilled vegetables with a warm cheese sauce drizzled over the top and served with warm bread (my favorite Spanish specialty). The plate of meat came next as Salamanca is known for their great cuts of meat. There was a mixture of pork and ham wrapped around warm brie and potatoes. Ending the meal was a delicious unidentified dessert that was a mix between a custard and creme brulee with cocoa powder on top. The meal was definitely a hit and it gave us time to all dress up in more formal clothes and socialize!
After dinner we participated in a little hotel partying and then went out to some bars and clubs. Salamanca is known for being a university town so there were plenty of hot spots to check out!
The next day we woke up and had another wonderful, free meal at the hotel. After breakfast we went on another guided "paseo" of the University Salamanca and down to the River Tormes, the river in Salamanca that is featured in Lazarillo de Tormes, a popular Spanish novel set during the time of the Inquisition. The University was beautiful and a great representation of what you would imagine an old university looking like.
On the front of the University there are beautiful and intricate carvings in the stone. It is an old belief that if you cannot find the tiny frog carving on the front of the building then you will not pass your exams. Luckily I ended up finding the frog (or had it pointed out to me) which looked more like a little bump on top of a skull than a frog. We walked around the University for a while and saw the library and classrooms which were antique- looking and absolutely beautiful! After seeing the University, the group headed down to the River Tormes which has a pretty Roman bridge over it and overlooks beautiful scenes of the city. 
Unfortunately down near the river it was much more windy and cold so we were definitely ready for our free time to escape to a heated place. A group of five of us girls decided to go to a cute little cafe and have croissants and cafe. This turned out to be my favorite part of the trip as we sat in the cafe for over two hours and talked over warm croissants and coffee for only 2.20 euros! Two of the girls were from Texas, one was from Chicago, and Patterson of course is from Charlotte with me. It was great conversation and it was like we finally found a group of us who could relate to each other and have so much fun together! The warm croissants with jelly, the American music playing over the intercom, the heat, and the coffee only made things better. After our time at the cafe and shopping around Salamanca for the remainder of our free time we returned home to Madrid around 6:30.
To make my day better, after dinner I rode the metro a couple of stops up on my line to meet one of my good friends from my club volleyball team from high school, Devon Applegate who is studying abroad in Tours, France. She was on winter break and staying in an apartment of one of her friends studying abroad in Madrid. It was so so nice to hang out in our sweatpants, eat ice cream, watch movies, and catch up! It is always so nice to see a friendly face from home but I had the best time hanging out with her and getting a little break from being in the apartment.
Also another highlight of my week was receiving two packages in the mail. My mom sent me the BEST valentines package filled with candy, magazines, and odds and ends that I needed from home. I absolutely loved it and it made the weeks until my family comes that much more bearable! Also Mrs. Howard, my best friend Kelli Howard's mother, sent me a sweet card with an ITunes gift card and a Dean& Deluca Valentines cookie. One of the biggest impacts of being abroad is that you realize how much your family and friends mean to you and are reminded constantly that the things you might have taken for granted before are not things that should be treated that way. I am so so thankful for everything that I have at home and am reminded everyday how lucky I truly am! I love you all so very much!
I am heading to London on Wednesday until Saturday with Kensey Wheeler, another girl from Wofford, and I am so excited to see my mother's old stomping grounds from when she traveled abroad and all of the sights London has to offer. I will be updating everyone on my London adventures on Sunday so until then, Adios!
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